For Teachers

Our Solar System Please click on the links below to download useful resources for the Our Solar System unit. Web links and additional reading for each lesson cluster Our Earth and Other Planets Lessons.pdf Our Sun and Other Stars Lessons.pdf Our Moon’s Cycle Lessons.pdf The Sun’s Annual Pattern Lessons.pdf Critical Thinking Here are some collected definitions from around the Web that discuss the meaning of critical thinking: “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”—The Foundation for Critical Thinking “Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal.”

What Are 21st Century Skills? 21st Century skills are 12 abilities that today’s students need to succeed in their careers during the Information Age. 21st Century skills are: Critical thinkingCreativityCollaborationCommunicationInformation literacyMedia literacyTechnology literacyFlexibilityLeadershipInitiativeProductivitySocial skills 10 Amazing Free Online Creativity Tools for Students It’s always a treat when a student can express themselves creatively in a way they’re never tried before. With a tool they may not have used before, you can add discovery learning into the mix. The online creativity tools you've got here are great little resources that will develop creativity in all sorts of ways. Using these online creativity tools, students can add artistic personal touches to their work in many ways. They can:

Motion & Force Lessons, Worksheets and Activities Force and motion are two undeniable laws of physics. They encompass Newton's laws including inertia, acceleration, friction, gravity and momentum. But lets not forget Newton's Third Law of Motion - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The laws are easy to memorize; they're also incredibly fun to teach. You can have fun demonstrating the various laws. Drop marbles, push a skateboard, roll objects into each other for a dramatic crash.

Forms of Energy - Ms. Jeffcoat's 5th Grade Science Class Energy Energy is the ability to work. You need energy to force an object to move. You need energy to make matter change. The blowing wind, the warm Sun and a falling leaf are all examples of energy in use. Energy makes motion and change possible. What Is Energy? - Lesson Summary With an introduction to the ideas of energy, students discuss specific energy types and practical energy sources. Associated hands-on activities help them identify energy types in their surroundings and enhance their understanding of the concept of energy. This engineering curriculum meets Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Engineering Connection Free printable math teasers and math puzzles Students love doing math puzzles and brain teasers. We have puzzles in 4 difficulty levels. Level 3 and 4 can be quite challenging and can also be used for high school math students.

Monarch butterfly life cycle The life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Click on the stages tabs to learn more about the different stages of the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. Acknowledgements: Background plate images of life cycle stages courtesy of Jacqui Knight and Kath Widdowson. Transcript Thorleif's SOMA page Problems worthy of attack, Prove their worth by hitting back. (Piet Hein) From time to time, man have tried to construct a threedimensional puzzle. In no circumstances has it, succeeded so well as with the SOMA cube, invented by the Danish Author Piet Hein. Having the seven Soma pieces in hand, first try to form the infamous 3x3x3 cube. There are 240 independent ways of making this cube.

Design Your Alien The following information is included in the resources attached to this activity; the Design Your Alien script and related presentation, the Solar System fact sheets and the Mars alien example. Life can be found almost anywhere on Earth, from the poles to the equator, from the bottom of the sea to miles above the surface, and from dry valleys to groundwater miles below the Earth’s surface. Over the last 3.7 billion years or so, life on the Earth has adapted to almost every environment imaginable. But what is it about Earth that makes it so perfectly suited to supporting life?